E3 2008: LEGO Batman Hands-on

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The cutest Dark Knight this side of George Clooney.

By Nate Ahearn

At this point Traveller's Tales' (TT) LEGO series has affirmed its place as one of the most simplistic and addictive franchises in the industry. The cute characters that resemble icons from some of Hollywood's most memorable creations are cool enough to make you feel like you're playing as your favorite heroes and villains but tame enough for the little tikes to easily enjoy.

The world of everyone's favorite caped crusader is the latest property to be assimilated into the LEGO mold. LEGO Batman brings an original storyline that features tons of villains and heroes that fans of the comic will instantly recognize, despite their blocky representations. You'll see the obligatory Batman and Robin along with Joker, Harley Quinn, Croc, Nightwing, Mr. Freeze and the Riddler to name a few from the ever-expanding list. TT is getting away with having such a large stable of characters by creating an original storyline that isn't confined to the movies like Indy and Star Wars were.

Both Batman and Robin have several costumes that they can put on, each of which granted them different powers. I saw the gliding rocket-powered suit for Bats and a magnetic suit for the agile Robin. Villains, who are fully playable, don't offer the same style of customizability, but they each have their own set of moves to fit their character. Freeze has his ice ray, Riddler can control character's minds and the Joker has an electric buzzer tied to his hand.

The core gameplay will feel very familiar for those who have worked their way through the other LEGO titles. There are always two characters on screen and the levels are constructed in a way that fosters cooperation to succeed. Sometimes Harley has to use her double-jump to get to a lever so Joker can open a door. Freeze can use his ray to solidify pieces of a liquid pool so Riddler can jump across and there are sure to be other similar scenarios. Now if only they had included co-op over Xbox Live.

The build I played was a little rough around the edges with invisible walls impeding my progress on occasion and fighting animations that felt a step too slow. Still, there's no question that the same spirit that has been in past LEGO games is alive and well here. Building elaborate machines is just as cool as always and breaking apart environmental pieces to earn valuable LEGO blocks is as rewarding as ever.

LEGO Batman spans three chapters with five levels per chapter, but the real kicker is that once you beat a level as the heroic duo of Batman and Robin you can replay it with a set of villains as well. Twice the bang for your buck.

If everything continues according to plan it looks like LEGO Batman will pack the same iconic fun (the Batman theme from the 1989 film even made it in) as past titles but with far more playable characters than we've seen in the past. Look out for LEGO Batman to swoop into stores on September 1, 2008.